Health workers wait to interview children during a vaccination drive against COVID-19 at a sports complex in Marikina, suburban Manila on October 22, 2021, after the national government expanded its innoculation program against Covid-19 to children with comorbidities aged 12-17. (Photo by Ted ALJIBE / AFP)
MANILA, Philippines — The vaccination of children aged 5 to 11, which is set to start next week, will begin in Metro Manila, an adviser to the National Task Force against COVID-19 (NTF) said on Tuesday.
NTF medical adviser Ted Herbosa said that the country is expected to receive the first shipment of 780,000 doses of Pfizer’s pediatric formulation on Jan. 31.
The Philippines is expected to receive 1.8 million more doses in the following days, he said.
This is part of the 15 million doses the government procured for the vaccination of children against COVID-19.
Herbosa said the government aims to inoculate seven million children in the said age group across the country.
The government aims to expand the vaccination to other areas outside of NCR mid-February.
“Sa mid-February, we hope na makakapag-nationwide [vaccination] na tayo with the delivery of doses na dadating pa,” he said in a Laging Handa public briefing.
(In mid-February, we hope we can roll out the vaccination nationwide with the delivery of the doses.)
Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. earlier said the vaccination of kids aged 5 to 11 is set to start on Feb. 4.
He said the memorandum guidelines would be released within the week, while trainings done by the Department of Health (DOH) for vaccinations will continue.
Children in the 5 to 11 age category will be given doses lower than the ones given to those in the 12-17 category, he explained.
Each vaccine dose will only be 10 micrograms per dose of 0.2 milliliters.
In contrast, those in the 12 to 17 category were given 30 micrograms per 0.3 milliliters of vaccine.